Friday, May 15, 2009

This isn't necassarily a breakdown of guys that have moved up the charts like a 100 or so ranking spots, but rather a list of players whom I never thought would have major relivence this year. So Zach Greinke moving up to #1 from the 100s is shocking but not as shocking as it would have been say if Kei Igawa was a top 50 player. Those are the guys I'm going for.

Hitters

Adam "Not Pacman" Jones, Oreos' Outfielder: Jones was just one of the many young players with the potential for 5 category development. He was slightly on your radar as a late round pickup but if you drafted him you certainly weren't expecting him to carry your team. And that's what he's done.Current Yahoo Rank: 6

Jason Bartlett, Rays' Shortstop: To call Bartlett a light hitting shortstop coming into this season would have been entirely accurate. He's never had more than a handful of homers in a season and after a month he's almost already reached his career high, throw in a handful of steals in a solid average and you have a top 30 player. Current Yahoo Rank: 28

Aaron Hill, Blue Jays' Second Baseman: Aaron Hill showed potential in 2007, but the injury riddled 2008 completely stripped him from my attention come draft day. Now after the first month of the season, he's a top 10 player. Current Yahoo Rank: 10

Adam Lind, Blue Jays' Outfielder: If you say you drafted Adam Lind on draft day in a mixed league you are a flat out liar. He hit just 9 homers last season and provided no steals. He was deep on the long list of outfielders, now after a month he's got 6 bombs and is hitting .321. Current Yahoo Rank: 44

Marco Scutaro, Blue Jays' Shortstop: Just to round out the Blue Jays, I present Marco Scutaro. If you're wondering why the Blue Jays are exceeding expectations its because of Doc Halladay and these three players who are tremendously surpassing preseason expectations. Current Yahoo Rank: 59

Pitchers

Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals' Closer: He was slightly on the radar of course because all potential closers are. But league leader in saves when he didn't even have the job on opening day? Highly unexpected. Current Yahoo Rank: 34

Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros' Starter: Wandy did have a good year last season with the Astros. His ERA was in the 3s and he was striking out almost a batter per inning. But to me it just seemed fluky and not really repeatable. So far I've been dead wrong. Current Yahoo Rank: 38

Zach Duke, Pirates' Starter: Zach Duke looked like the next Tom Glavine in his rookie season. After that, he looked like Kei Igawa. This season something has clicked and Current Yahoo Rank: 68

Kevin Millwood, Rangers' Starter: Come on it's Kevin Millwood. His ERA is practically in the 6s each year. Never would I ever have thought to draft him unless I was in the deepest of AL only leagues. Yet he's 3-0 with an ERA below 3 after a month. Current Yahoo Rank: 108

Brian Bannister, Royals' Starer: He's a soft throwing 5th starter on the Royals. The fantasy relevance of these types of players is negative. However through a month Bannister sits wtih three wins and an ERA of 1.80.Current Yahoo Rank: 113